Amy Walks: Ystradfellte’s Four Waterfalls Trail

I have wanted to go on the Four Waterfalls trail, near Ystradfellte, for a couple of years now. I had hopes to go last year, but ran out of time and spent a fabulous afternoon in Dunraven Bay instead. Therefore, when another long weekend arrived this year, my adventure buddy, Jodie, and I got a plan together.

We set out early on the Sunday morning and drove two hours to the edge of Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales. Once we’d paid the £4 parking charge at the main car park, we headed off in the way-marked direction of the waterfalls.

Going through woodland and down slopes, Jodie and I caught up and admired our surroundings. We were particularly pleased to have walked past a sea of Bluebells, having not had chance to do a specific walk for them this year.

The first waterfall that we came to was the Sgwd Clun-gwyn. It was definitely an impressive sight and a great start.

At this point, we had the option to retrace our steps and take the easy ‘red’ route or to go along a harder ‘green’ trail – see the route map here – which had warnings of thin paths and a steep, rocky section that might need hands to negotiate. In full adventure mode, Jodie and I looked at each other and said “sod it, let’s just go for it”. It was rather a wild weekend in general for me, as you can also see from this post!

We followed the pathways and made it to the next waterfall with ease. It safe to say that we definitely felt like intrepid explorers!

Sgwd Isaf Clun-gwyn was the next waterfall. In fact, it was actually two waterfalls set a handful of steps apart. Starting at the top fall, and avoiding a near miss with a falling thermos, we took in yet another incredible sight.

We then made our way down towards the lower part of the falls. I spotted a steep but achievable route down to rocks at the bottom of the waterfall. And in a second moment of madness, decided to scale the side and work my way down. Jodie followed and we enjoyed a few peaceful minutes at the waterfalls by ourselves.

It was also the perfect spot for a photo!

Finally, we pulled our way back up to the main route and walked a few more steps down to the final part of Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn.

Following the trail, my friend and I took a rest on some flat rocks half way round. Here we refuelled and chatted away, getting far too comfy that it was difficult to move afterwards!

When we eventually managed to get off our – now numb – bums, we trooped over to the third waterfall, Sgwd y Pannwr. Again, this was a grand fall from above. However, we weren’t sure on how to see it head on. If you have any tips for future trips, please comment below!

The fourth and final waterfall, Sgwd yr Eira, was the one we’d been most looking forward to. And it didn’t disappoint!

We were looking forward to seeing this one the most because it was the only one out of the four waterfalls that we could walk behind. Which is exactly what we did!

It was an absolutely incredible experience and I don’t think a beaming smile ever left my face. It was truly awesome!

Leaving the waterfalls behind but feeling exhilarated from the experience, Jodie and I started the trek back to the car. And what a trek it was! As other walkers will know on a circular walk, what goes down must come back up again. And those were some bloomin’ steep climbs back up! But it was all worth it and we made it back to the car feeling tired but super happy.

The trail really was amazing and I would love to do it again in autumn, when the leaves have changed colour and there’s more water to spill over the edges. It’s also one that can easily be done with children and/or dogs. However, I wouldn’t attempt to visit on a weekend again. It was teeming with people and from a photographer’s point of view, I’d want it to be much quieter. I’m also a big fan of doing lesser-known walks. This is for the simple fact that I like to feel closer to nature and to enjoy some peace and quiet; so when there are screaming kids or bustling people around, it’s pretty hard to do this. But that’s just my opinion and I would still highly recommend doing this walk whenever you get a chance!

Jodie and I had another excellent adventure together and loved the Four Waterfalls Walk. It’s very easy to see why Wales is also known as Waterfalls Country too…